Good morning, CIOs. The role of the CIO has been rising in influence, given that CIOs are well positioned to help corporations make use of the digital technology so critical to their future. Those tools have turned out to be even more powerful and unpredictable than many people understood, and a fundamental reassessment of technology’s relationship to the individual and government is under way. “The clobbering tech shares have taken in recent days has magnified not only how influential these companies have become in people’s everyday lives,” the Journal’s Steven Russolillo writes.

Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is preparing to face lawmakers at expected Congressional hearings, a reflection of anxiety and confusion about the ways in which the company manages user data, so useful to businesses and governments around the world.

It will be critical for CIOs to understand the shifting views on privacy and the governance of data and technology around the world, and to make sure that their companies approach these matters in a clear and intentional manner, one that adheres to the demands of the law as well as those of employees and customers. How is your view of tech governance evolving? Leave a comment and let us know.

Santander explores blockchain’s potential uses. The bank’s Madrid lab is experimenting with how the online ledger technology could be used for international payments as well as compliance, audits and transactions within capital markets. Lindsey Argalas, Santander’s chief digital and innovation officer, tells CIO Journal that the bank could ensure that transactions between customers are faster, more accurate and secure through blockchain technology.

JLL’s tech division acquires real estate startup Stessa. The deal marks the first acquisition for JLL Spark, a business division launched in July 2017 to expand JLL’s digital real estate offerings, an area known in the industry as proptech. JLL Spark operates as an independent entity, but works closely with JLL, including Edward Wagoner, global CIO for corporate solutions. “A great deal of my time is spent … listening to and working with clients to solve their problems and take competitive advantage of technological advances,” Mr. Wagoner tells CIO Journal.

Facebook’s Zuckerberg expects to testify at Congressional hearing. If it happens, it would be Mark Zuckerberg’s first public testimony before U.S. lawmakers, notes the WSJ’s Deepa Seetharaman. On Monday, Mr. Zuckerberg declined to appear before a U.K. parliamentary committee seeking evidence on how companies acquire user data from Facebook, choosing to send a deputy instead.

Facebook tweaks security settings. The tweaks announced Wednesday include a new, central hub in the Facebook app settings that contains existing tools for users to review and, if desired, delete traces of their Facebook activity, Ms. Seetharaman reports. Some other data, such as which ads users clicked on, still won’t be erasable. Facebook says any information users delete is wiped from its servers.

MORE TECHNOLOGY NEWS

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg News

Oracle wins court ruling against Google in Java case. A federal appeals court revived Oracle Corp.’s multibillion-dollar copyright infringement claims against Google, ruling its use of Oracle’s Java programming technology was unfair. The ruling was a reversal of fortune in a case that dates back to 2010, says the Journal’s Brent Kendall, when Oracle alleged Google’s Android smartphone operating system infringed copyrights related to Oracle’s Java platform.

Waymo orders up to 20,000 Jaguar SUVs for driverless fleet. The deal, announced Tuesday, is potentially worth more than $1 billion, and escalates Waymo’s effort to put vehicles on public roads without human drivers behind the wheel, the Journal’s Tim Higgins and Chester Dawson report. The self-driving car unit of Google parent Alphabet Inc. says a fleet of 20,000 Jaguars could serve a million trips a day. The vote of confidence comes a day after Arizona’s governor suspended Uber Technologies Inc. from testing in the state following the first pedestrian death involving a self-driving vehicle.

Nvidia halts its own self-driving test fleet. The graphics chip maker said its suspension involves its own fleet of test cars, which are being driven on public roads in California and New Jersey, the WSJ’s Ted Greenwald reports. Uber Technologies Inc. has also used Nvidia’s computing technology in its Volvo XC90 SUVs, the same type of vehicle that struck a pedestrian on March 18 in Tempe, Ariz. It isn’t clear if Nvidia’s technology was in the car that struck 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, who later died of her injuries.

Uber to let California self-driving test permit lapse. Following the March 18 accident in Arizona, the company pulled all of its roughly 200 autonomous vehicles from public roads in San Francisco, Toronto, Tempe and Pittsburgh. It hasn’t said when it will revive testing of autonomous vehicles. The Journal’s Greg Bensinger has more.

Federal safety investigators examine another fatal Tesla crash. The National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched investigators to examine a fatal crash last week in California of a Tesla Inc. electric vehicle and determine whether the vehicle’s semi-automated driving system was engaged, the Journal’s Mike Spector reports. The NTSB’s first significant foray into automated-vehicle technology came in response to the May 2016 fatal crash of another Tesla vehicle using Autopilot on a Florida highway. The agency eventually found Tesla shared blame for the crash, noting the semiautonomous system allowed a driver to go long periods without his hands on the wheel and ignore the company’s warnings.

In car makers’ digital dash, little room for error. Although powerful new semiconductors allow more digital safety and entertainment features in cars, flawless integration of those functions poses challenges. “Software complexity is increasing and we need to adjust our processes accordingly,” Helmut Matschi, an executive board member at German auto-parts maker Continental Automotive GmbH, tells the WSJ’s Chester Dawson. Car companies have issued recalls to fix various glitches, and regulators now pinpoint software problems as being responsible for an increasing number of malfunctions.

Rural cable firms lose in Huawei brawl. A potential casualty of the Trump administration’s escalating fight against Huawei Technologies Co.: rural carriers and internet providers that depend on the Chinese giant’s gear to connect their customers. On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission proposed a rule making it harder for these smaller carriers to subsidize future purchases of telecom equipment from Huawei and Chinese peers. The WSJ’s Drew FitzGerald and Stu Woo report that the rule would restrict companies from drawing on a government-run fund that, among other goals, helps connect rural America to the internet.

Apple makes new education pitch. Apple Inc. said it is updating its entry-level iPad with capabilities designed to appeal to students and new software for teachers, as the company tries to recharge sales of the tablet and shore up its dwindling share of the U.S. education market, the WSJ reports. Software and support capabilities include more free cloud storage and a cloud-based app that allows teachers to monitor students’ progress on assignments.

Apple sued over throttling. Some five dozen iPhone customers have filed at least 59 separate lawsuits since December accusing Apple of slowing their phones to spur people to buy new iPhones, the WSJ’s Tripp Mickle and Kirsten Grind report. The lawsuits are seeking class-action status.

Karen Katz, who retired this year as CEO of Neiman Marcus after a 30-plus-year career, tells aspiring women executives to take risks and “figure out what you’re willing to sacrifice.” (WSJ)

The Morning Download is edited by Tom Loftus and cues up the most important news in business technology every weekday morning. You can get The Morning Download emailed to you each weekday morning by clicking http://wsj.com/TheMorningDownload.